Social anxiety in Philly: Cani's honest answer.

0:18B: Um, I am from Montgomery County, but I live here in Philadelphia. I’m from the street.

0:27Maceo: Okay, okay. And how old are you?

0:29B: I’m 77 years old.

0:32Maceo: Okay, okay.

0:33B: I’m 25.

0:36Maceo: Okay, okay. And so this week’s question is, what do you think about social anxiety?

0:40B: Um, honestly, as a person who has social anxiety, the thing that I think about it, like, I just feel like -- I don’t know, I feel like a lot of people have it. A lot of people that I do know, like, they have it. And it’s like, like right now I’m like having a hard time trying to like think of what to say. It’s, it’s, it’s, it is like one of the hardest things to kind of live with, especially if like you are kind of like a people person. Like you do like people, you do want to conversate with people, you just don’t know how to say things or like what to say. So it’s like, it is hard to live with in a way.

1:18Maceo: Mm-hmm.

1:18B: Because like you don’t really know how to navigate through things as far as like social interactions and stuff. Um, but yeah, that’s about -- that’s really all I can really say about it. No, no problem.

1:32Maceo: Okay, what do you think about Philly? Um, what do you think -- what do you think people are anxious about in Philly? Young people?

1:40B: I think -- I think the thing that we are mostly anxious about is just like how -- how certain people would react because some Some people are nice here and then some people are a little like, like, why are you talking to me? Like, you know what I’m saying? Like, why are you even like trying to have a conversation with me? Like, you know what I’m saying? And it’s like, I feel like that also like makes the anxiety more for them because it’s like, I don’t know what that person’s reaction is going to be. They could be on edge, they probably having a bad day, and they might take it out on me, you know what I’m saying? So you never really know what you’re going to get out of the people in this city. But I feel like that’s just any city, like, because we’re just constantly moving in the city. Yes.

2:18Maceo: No, that makes sense. That makes sense. Are there any questions you want me to be asking people around this city? You think it would be meaningful to be asking people around the city?

2:26B: Um, I would be asking like what kind of spots to do, like what kind of good spots is around here as far as like small businesses, because it’s a lot of small businesses here in Philadelphia. Like you’re going to see a lot of small Black businesses and stuff like that. They’re everywhere. Here in Philadelphia, especially here in Germantown.

2:45Maceo: That’s real. You want to shout any out?

2:48B: Um, I don’t know any off the top of my head, I’m not gonna lie, but I have seen some. It’s like a pink place right here, that’s like a small business and she just opened that.

2:58Maceo: You want to talk about the barbershop?

3:00B: Oh yeah, you want to talk about it?

3:02Maceo: I think they don’t want to talk about nothing.

3:04B: Social anxiety.

3:06Maceo: Since I was a kid, he’s not cutting my hair anymore. It’s okay.

3:12B: Anthony’s something else. But yeah, that’s all I really can say. Like, I’m like, I got -- I came here when I was 17, so like my experience is kind of like wishy-washy. There’s like -- it’s good and bad. Like, I ain’t had the best experience, but I also had some good experiences as well.

3:30Maceo: So, but yeah, it was nice to meet you.

3:34B: It was nice to meet you too.